dense-flowered owl's-cloverCastilleja densiflora var. densiflora
Orobanchaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae)
I was really pleased at how well this photo turned out with the little faces (click on the picture to see a larger image), considering I took only one shot in a hurry as the wind was picking up right before it began to snow. To confirm this ID, I compared this with the purple owl's-clover (C. exserta ssp. exserta), which is also present at Garland Ranch and has a hooked, hairy beak, versus the exserted stigma of C. densiflora (seems contrary to the scientific names, eh?). If I had my druthers, I'd call all owl's-clovers CA quail's-clovers due to the little "plume" (hooked, hairy, exserted, or otherwise) above the face.
ps 06/01/11 - This ID of C. densiflora var. densiflora was confirmed by Mark Eggar on Flickr. He's a public school science teacher up in Seattle, WA, and I consider him one of the most accessible Castilleja experts around. Check out Eggar's impressive Castilleja photo collection.
ps 06/01/11 - This ID of C. densiflora var. densiflora was confirmed by Mark Eggar on Flickr. He's a public school science teacher up in Seattle, WA, and I consider him one of the most accessible Castilleja experts around. Check out Eggar's impressive Castilleja photo collection.
10 comments:
those are really cute - thanks for the tip to enlarge or i would have missed those cute little 'faces'.
Yes, I too would not have seen the little faces had you not guided me to it. It just goes to show how many of the little things in life we do not see and just pass on by.
Er... chicken, monkey, dog? Not seeing any owl faces. I mustn't be trying hard enough :o(
They look like little tiger faces! I never noticed that before now. Thanks for the info filled post and lovely photo.
Great little photos...did you see my last post with a link to yours?
I'm very pleased you saw the faces. I actually don't know why these are called owl's clover. I've made my own guess since some actually do look like little owls.
The faces look like care bears!
Jennifer, that's funny! They do look like Care Bears. Oy! We're such a product of the 80's.
Katie, I had also missed the faces, until I looked closely. I think they look a bit like chickens!
As I was reading your comment on how you have to wait for the wind to take the photo, (which is often a problem), it occurred to me that you might like my post from yesterday on Lester Rowntree. You probably have already read of her, but she was quite a woman when it comes to identifying plants under all types of conditions.
Sue, could you send me a link to your post on Lester. I can't find an archive on your blog and this was over a month ago.
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